What Never Happened
by shadowofbeauty
Summary: DebTim, Leyton undertone. General Naley, and some other random couples. Dan hits a midlife crisis, and Tree Hill rejoices...rated M for suggestive connotation.
1. Lost

"Lost"

Dan unbuttoned his shirt and looked in the mirror. His pacemaker thumped tiny electrons to his heart as he gazed over at his wife. She had taken too many drugs and passed out. She lay on the soft couch as the T. V. sounded in the background. Dan sighed and buttoned his shirt back up. This pain was too great to endure here.

He took a step outside and watched the sunset. Warmth enriched his body where coldness used to thrive. He sat on the dock and let the waves roll, capturing the moment. He thought about his lifetime. He fathered two sons; both of which he had a strong dislike for. He wanted Lucas to be better, stronger at his game and stop worrying about his girlfriends. He wanted Nathan to focus on what's important and to be the athlete he was in his day. But no, he thought, maybe that was me. Maybe I impacted him too much in the first place. He reflected on his past with Nathan, thinking through his decisions as the sky filled with darkness. He decided that he had affected everyone in a negative way and knew what he could do about it.

He wanted to run away from his life, leave his sick wife to die in no one's arms. He didn't want to see the end; he wanted to bring it. And with that, he revved up his car and drove off.

* * *

A loud rasping on the door made Deb's eyes flicker. She first saw a white stucco ceiling before realizing where she was. The knocking grew louder. "I'm coming!" she yelled.

"Debra, is that you?" Tim asked when she finally gathered the strength to open the door.

"Oh, Tim, come in, I just woke up. Sorry about the mess; I didn't expect company." She laughed, hesitantly. "Are you here for any particular reason?" she asked, as he sat on the couch she had risen from.

"Umm…no. I just wanted to come and say hi to you." He looked over at Deb's priceless beauty. Damn, she's hot, he thought.

Deb chuckled sweetly at this. "That was very nice of you, Tim, but if you're looking for Nathan he's out. Since he moved back in he's been trying to stay away from us." Debs smile turned to sadness. "Do you want anything to drink?" she asked, to brighten up the sorrow.

"Sure, a beer would be fine," Tim said, noticing Deb's vulnerability. He thought of what she could give him at this point in time.

Deb slowly took three steps toward the kitchen. Everything was becoming blurry and the world seemed to spin around her. The walls turned to black and the windows shone with night air's bright stars. Suddenly, she collapsed and Tim knelt down to see what was the matter. He stared at her blonde hair and cleavage. He couldn't resist. He snuck one shaky hand on one; he thought it wouldn't count as much. Then he realized she wasn't breathing and he had to do this. He put two hands on her chest, below her breasts, and did CPR on her. He breathed into her mouth, let damp hair in and out. God, he was loving this.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dan sped on the highway. Sirens rang behind him. He craned his neck to the rearview mirror to see who it was. Sheriff. He cursed under his breath. How could I ever get caught? He thought to himself. Before, he had checked the speedometer, which told him he was going only 50 mph on an interstate with a limit of only 60 mph. "Hmmm…." He thought out loud. "I wonder what kind of cop this is?"

A beige door slammed shut in the distance as Dan parked on the shoulder. A very butch-looking woman walked out, boldly, and knocked for him to roll down his window.

"Your left break light is out." She told him. Dan began to open the door to look at the problem, but she stopped him with a steel-toed boot to the door. Ooh, that's going to hurt the paint, he thought.

"So, where are you driving to this evening, cowboy?" she said with her leg still bent toward the door, suggestively.

Dan had to laugh. "Are you asking me out?"

The officer smiled. "Ah. So you're married. Most good-lookin' men are married these days. Just thought I'd ask – us sheriffs don't get that much attention these days." She began to walk away before Dan stuck his head out the window.

"Wait, aren't you going to give me a ticket?"

The woman stood still for a moment. She twisted around and smiled. "Is that what you want?"

Dan grinned. He knew cheating on his wife would be wrong, but he couldn't resist. "You can hop in. But don't expect anything," he replied, putting out his trademark lie.

She smirked and opened up the passenger door with a click. "Better not let me catch you speeding." Dan couldn't help but stare at her beauty as he glided down the highway, freely.


	2. That Noisy Silence

**A/N: **_Just so you know, this part, as well as the chapters after this, are going to be written as a compilation of stories. Be on the lookout for some overlapping between this and another one of my fanfics...read on to find out which.

* * *

_

"That Noisy Silence"

Deb's eyes shot open in a flash. The medics lifted her frail body onto the stretcher, as Tim tried to run inside with her, worried. Thank God he was here, she thought.

Her body was stiff and frozen, like an iceberg in the North Atlantic. She felt as if she couldn't move. She was numb, immobile. Her heart was buried in the cold sea.

Tim went with her to the hospital, said he was her son. Deb just lay there, blind to what was happening around her.

* * *

"_Hotels Approaching: Riverside Inn_," Dan read off the traveler's sign. He turned to the Sheriff, who had earlier named herself as Fern. "Well what do you think?" he said, flashing those pearly whites.

She smirked at him. "Whatever floats your boat." She knew he was thinking the same thing - she had no objections.

He smiled back and continued on his way. This was going to be one hell of a ride.

* * *

Peyton looked in the mirror. She was going to tell him today, she had to.

Wind was blowing through the window. The night air smelled like fruit, from the neighbors' apple trees and the lotion she had just put on. She was wearing her mother's night gown, in memory of that old summer night.

The stairs creaked as she stepped down to the front door, sat on the bench in her porch. A breeze carried her white gown upwards, making her legs shiver. She gazed at the bare street. It was one of those nights, where the humidity made everything feel still and silent. Everything was frozen in time.

"Lucas..." she whispered. She wanted him here, she wanted him to know.

* * *

Dan's cell phone rang. "Hello?" he said, flipping the smooth device open. Fern stared at him, curious.

"Really? No kidding...Ah, I'm kind of on business right now. She's gonna be fine, you say? ...Alright. I'll make sure to do so when I get back. ...Oh, thank _you_."

"That was the hospital," Dan told Fern, eyes still on the road. "Apparently, my wife collapsed, and she's being treated for her addiction." He glanced at her, as she gave him an equally neutral look.

"So you're still coming with me?" she asked, surprised he hadn't cared for his wife's illness.

Dan smiled and slid his hand onto her hip. "I know what I want. And it's not her."

* * *

Nathan carefully fixed his tie. He was looking like a real gentleman tonight. He and Haley were going out. He'd planned a romantic evening at a fancy French restaurant, and it was almost like the honeymoon they never had.

The door behind him creaked as Haley stepped in and put her arms around his shoulders. "Well hey there, handsome," she said, surprised at his outfit. She turned her head toward his ear. "What are we going to, prom?" she asked laughingly.

He swung around and kissed her on the cheek. "Just a little something I came up with." He smiled, and her lips curled back. Their hands slid into each other's as they walked out the door to their date.

* * *

Lucas crept up the hallway, heard giggling, which increased as he got closer to his mother's room. He passed by her door ajar, smooching sounds and Keith's voice carried through the air. He chuckled a little himself and proceeded on to his room. He stepped in and took a gander in the long mirror. He studied the way his eyebrows curled when he was thinking different thoughts.

The cool night air blew in and brushed the top of his forehead, giving him a sense of calmness. But what was going on in that air elsewhere, he didn't know. That short breeze caressed throughout the night, and once the sun rose, no one was going to be ready to know...


	3. Twilight

_Twilight_

Peyton gasped, in ecstasy. Lucas was with her, _in _her... Magic being carried in and out, through and through. A seductive smile, a harmless smirk... Tongues dancing, wet sparks flying. Angels crying. Devils laughing.

What happened that night had made Peyton want to regurgitate her guilt, but it did not avail. Only the poison of alcohol had shed from her...

She had woken up, taken back to that nightmare and fantasy. The time just six months ago... Lucas was still with Brooke. But he was with Peyton, showing Peyton what love was, not Brooke. She was dreaming that there was a snow storm in Tree Hill, Lucas and her caught in the same hotel again, deaf to Brooke's hoarse voice, "You selfish bitch"...

* * *

Lucas had received a call at two a.m. that night. It was Peyton, but she hadn't said a word. He only had known it was her because of the caller ID on his cell phone...The entire voicemail message was soundless, only the word "Peyton" visible on the glass screen. He was worried about her, so he stopped at her house when the sun had risen, only to come home to a sleeping girl, deep in her dreams. And he wondered, what would come of this? What secret had she wanted to reveal to him?

* * *

Tim waited with flowers in hand. He watched through the window as the doctors pumped poison out of her lungs, her stomach...He worried, despite the fact that he was a mere adolescent, and her, a grown woman. He wanted her, so much, that it had become his obsession. He didn't see himself as a stalker, but rather, infatuated...In his own vocabulary, at least.

Deb's mind wandering, as Tim's eyes gazed on her. She had a fantastical dream about being buried in the ocean, alive...Frozen in time, then melted. Thawed. Brought back to the surface, to reality...

* * *

"So, a room for forty it is?" Dan's eyes shot at the hotel owner, confident in his pleasure.

Fern waited by his side, nervously rocking her ankles like a sensitive twelve-year-old.

The manager winked, "Sure," and handed him the keys, pointing him in the direction of the room as Fern glared at their devilish eyes.

She had hated men, for a time in her life, and was now coming out of her shell. She wanted some adventure, some thrill. She could get off on kicking criminals' asses, but having someone to love was more. Having someone to hold, was more. She dazed away as Dan held her close, walking to the room, twisting the keys, the door popping open... A dull red covered the room, darkness swallowing the rest. A musky smell, Fern sneezed from the dust. Dan smiled coyly, an actor...and somehow managed to find a kleenex for her poor nose. He had put on another mask, another face...another facade to make himself happy. He always did this, playing with others' hearts, minds...But this time, there was a piece of him that was pulled out of the darkness. And that was his cold, lonely heart.


	4. Pressure

_Pressure_

"Lucas."

Static.

"Lucas I need to tell you something."

A blur.

"Lucas when you were with Brooke, when we…Somethin—"

"Peyton?" Lucas picked up his cell phone. "I just found my phone, what were you saying?"

Peyton gazed down at her sketches. _Truth_ one read, above a picutre of a black heart with 23 written in the middle. "Nevermind."

"No Peyton, tell me," Lucas pressured.

"No it's fine. Really." She nodded in self-assurance. "Just this problem I was having. I remembered the answer when you picked up. It's fine."

"Peyton if something's happened, you can tell me," Lucas said, concerened.

"Look Luke, it's nothing, okay?" she said, defensive.

"Alright." Lucas calmly punched the button and laid back, torturing himself about what she did, what she would need. He cared about her so deeply, he needed for her to be alright.

* * *

"Well it looks alright." Fern plopped on a bed and sank into the dead springs. "Maybe not," she said, inching away from it.

Dan chuckled. "So what do you want to do?"

"Here?" Fern said.

"Anywhere you want." Dan stared straight into her eyes, looking as charming to her as ever.

"Can we drive off into the middle of nowhere and do it? Like we're teens again?"

"Of course." And the self-assured smirk stood on his face once again. "I'll even throw in a special treat for you," he said, walking towards the door.

"Oh yea, what's that?"

"Well I can't tell you, then I'd ruin the surprise!" His hands moved to her waist and brought her to their first kiss of the evening, each tasting the pleasure of risk on their tongues.

* * *

Tim sat in the waiting room a bit unpaciently. He sat down, got back up, paced back and forth, sat back down again. He maybe would go and get a snack while worrying if she'd always be this way.

Comatose.

Now the doctors said it might not be for long, maybe a month at most, but he was still worried there was a chance that she might never wake up. And he'd never be able to tell her, to prove to her that he loved her, he wanted her…to seduce her. He had wanted that since the day he first saw the woman at a party at Nathan's house, how she gracefully clinked the wine glass, the black, sexy revealing dress…He loved her to death. But he hoped he wouldn't have to…

* * *

"Maccaroni and cheese?!" Haley said, frustrated.

"Maccaroni and cheese. And mashed potatoes and gravy and a nice glass of milk with that."

Haley stared at the waiter trying to hide the smirk from her face. When he left, she nearly burst into tears from laughing. "You know, the gods aren't here everyday," she said, putting her hand over her face, embarrassed.

"But you are." He smiled at his fianceé, whom he loved dearly. "And you'll get whatever food you like tonight." They were celebrating her birthday, and he had a surprise planned for her later, but now he kept to himself and let her eat. She'd need that energy later.

Haley titlted her head down and chucked, then tilted her head back and rolled her eyes. "Maccaroni and cheese…Could this night get even more fun?"

Nathan chuckled as well. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said with a smile.

Haley smiled back. "Mmm…Try me." She leaned forward to hear the secret.

"Well, it goes a little bit like this," Nathan said, pressing his lips against hers gently, and pulling away just as smoothly.

"I think I'm gonna like this night."

Nathan just sat in his chair and looked at his beautiful soon-to-be bride. She was amazing.


	5. Remedy

_Remedy_

"You're so sweet." She looked into his eyes, deep into his intent.

Tim looked up and laid his head back down on her breast.

"You don't talk much, do you?" The metronomical heart monitor beeped in the background.

"It's nice though." Tim looked back up at her, turning his head slightly, but keeping it still at the same time.

"It's been rough lately," she said, drifting off. "Nathan hates me, Karen fired me, and Dan…" Tim's eyes got wider, holding onto every word she said.

"Dan doesn't want to be a part of me anymore, Tim." Her eyes held onto his, soaked with tears but not crying. Not yet.

Tim slid his hand into hers as she held on as tight as she damn well could. He felt his heart breaking under hers.

* * *

Peyton's hand stung. It was burned to the core, but she just kept going. She beat the house with open flames in her hands.

"Let me out!" she cried. There wasn't a soul in sight.

Salty tears sprang from her eyes.

"Let me out, please!" she begged.

The pink sky lay above, covering the blues of night. A green forest stood below, in the middle of a flaming barnhouse. Peyton inside.

She pounded and pounded, but she just couldn't get out.

The darkness had begun to swallow her. The pink sky turned to dust.

Her hands started to crumble into the black body.

She pannicked in fear and shock, her body trembling and frozen at the same time. Her eyes widened and she nearly passed out from all the anxiety.

Sweat rose from her cheeks and soaked her hair. She closed her eyes and wished it was all over. She wanted Lucas. She could almost see him in the flames. She called out to him, barely a whisper. "Lucas…"

And that's when it all changed. The flames bulged, covering the house, the forest, even the sky. And the last thing she saw was his eyes carved in a brilliant orange flame before her eyes shot open, feeling the dry tears under her eyes, softly repeating, "Lucas."


	6. Untitled

"No."

That's all she had said when Peyton called Brooke, to ask if there was any way they could ever be friends again. She had to get this out of her system somehow, but who was she going to talk to if she didn't have a best friend anymore?

Her feet took her to the answer. It was almost unconscious, as if there was some force that was dragging her there.

_Karen's Café, _read the sign in front of her. Through the windows she saw Haley swing down and serve a table of four their food as well as a couple drink refills. She worked hard there, everyday after school. She had to have some way of paying for the things she wanted and saving up for college, unlike Peyton and Nathan's "rich daddies".

Peyton pushed the door open, the bell clinking in unison. Haley looked up in response. Peyton could see the change in her face when she looked up at her.

"Oh hey, Peyton. Did you want something to drink?" She rushed to get a menu, but Peyton shook her head.

"No, no; I'm here to talk." Peyton laid her dazzling green eyes on Haley's brown ones. The brunette began to put the menu back.

"You sure? We're having a chicken noodle soup special," she recited.

"It's okay," Peyton said, softly. "You get a break anytime soon?"

Behind the counter, Karen took the hint and tilted her head sharply to the left. Haley saw and wiped her hands on a kitchen rag before walking outside with Peyton.

Once they were finally on pavement, Peyton confessed. "Me and Lucas have been…well we're the reason he and Brooke aren't together anymore."

Haley rubbed her face with her hands. "Oh I knew it! He should've never dated Brooke in the first place!" She looked back at Peyton, who was painfully ashamed. Haley touched her shoulder in penitence, reassured her that she and Brooke would be okay.

Peyton shook her head in response. "No we won't. She told me today." She continued looking down, painfully guilty.

Haley held her eyes low as well, so Peyton wouldn't see the tears building up in her eyes, even though she wasn't the one who cheated on her best friend.

They both looked up at the moon, full and warm, bathing the sky in its milk. "So are you still…?" Haley asked.

Peyton's head trembled in response. "I don't know anymore." Haley threw an arm around her, and they followed into the night.

* * *

Nathan put Haley's hand on his heart as she slept after a long night of passionate love-making. "That's where you are Hales," he said, knowing she'd never hear it. His warmth stung in her as he stared up at the ceiling, half-thinking, half-saying. "And that's where you'll stay." He patted her hand, his eyes now attached to the slow rise and fall of her body, the long silky auburn hair he had stroked many a time, as he did now, and he rested his head against hers. The last thing he saw before he fell asleep was her beautiful closed eyes, thinking of how it would always be this way. Perfect. 


End file.
